Harry Potter and the Slytherin Schoolmates
by DaisyFosterer
Summary: What will happen when Harry Potter makes friends with a couple of Slytherins? How will the famous Harry Potter change when he is consistently around Slytherins? An A/U version of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's (or Philosopher's) Stone. *will have Dumbledore and Weasley bashing*
1. Trains and Talks

Chapter 1  
Trains and Talks

September 1, 1991

Kings Cross Station, London, UK

* * *

Harry Potter maneuvered his way through the crowd of hugging and crying families and to the train. Hagrid had abandoned him after their trip to Diagon Alley with only the instructions to: "Find yer way to tha wall between Platforms Nie and Ten. The' yer take off runnin' throu' tha wall." Harry did exactly that.

Once on the train, Harry entered the first compartment with someone close to his age in it.

"Can I — uh — you know — uh — sit with you?" Harry stuttered.

The girl turned her head and her blonde locks spun around her head, glittering in the sunshine. Her cold, violet blue eyes met his emerald irises as she spoke. "Fine, but don't expect me to speak to you."

Harry muttered a thanks as he refused to back down. He felt as if she had challenged him and he promised himself that he would be braver and more outgoing once starting this school. His aunt, uncle, and cousin had already taken too much from him in the past, but they would not take away his chance at making friends simply because he was too nervous.

He lifted his trunk to the bars above the seats. He softly sat, but was on edge from the awkward silence in the compartment. Soon after, another girl with long brown hair and bright blue eyes bounced into the cabin like a tennis ball.

"Hey Daphne!" She exclaimed. "Are you ready to start school? We've been waiting for this forever!" Finally looking over at the other occupant of the compartment, she added, "Who are you?"

"I'm Harry Potter," Harry answered, already exasperated by her very bubbly personality.

She laughed. "You're funny. Who are you really?"

"No, I'm really Harry Potter. Why is that so funny?" He asked, genuinely confused.

Until then, Daphne had done little more that look at the other girl with a warm smile. Now, however, she gazed at Harry with interest.

"Stop lying. If you're really Harry Potter then you wouldn't be so confused," Daphne said thoughtfully.

"I thought you weren't going to talk to me," Harry retorted to Daphne.

"Well things change," she snapped back.

"Okay, whatever, you two," the other girl snapped. "Back to the important stuff. Do you really not know who Harry Potter is?"

"Well, of course I do. I am Harry Potter. I just don't understand why the fact that I'm him matters," Harry huffed.

"Because you're the Boy-Who-Lived!" The brunette nearly shouted.

The train's whistle sounded loudly, and the train began to rattle as it went along the tracks. "Tracey! Calm down. He's obviously messing with us," Daphne scolded the other girl who was now identified as Tracey.

"I'm really not. Yes, I'm Harry Potter. I was raised by my non-magical aunt and uncle, and I had no idea that magic existed until less than a week ago. Now why am I so important in your society?" Harry asked in a raised, exasperated tone.

"Because you're the Boy-Who-Lived," Tracey said quietly. Not understanding, Harry raised an eyebrow at both her and Daphne.

"Here, I'll explain," Daphne said after letting out a huff of air.

Daphne went on to explain how the Potters were killed in an accident on Halloween night of 1981. She explained that the dark lord of the time, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named, killed Harry's father before facing his mother. He shot a killing spell at the baby but Harry's mother jumped in front of the toddler and took the curse instead. With Harry's mother then dead, the Dark Lord had a clear shot at Harry. No one knows why exactly, but the curse did not kill the boy, but instead caused You-Know-Who to die. Harry was left with a lightning shaped scar and he dropped off the map.

Harry showed the two girls his scar by lifting the hair from his forehead. Their eyes grew wide at this revelation of the scar.

"You— you really are Harry Potter." Tracey scampered.

Daphne was opening and closing her mouth like a fish. "I — I don't understand. How is that the first time you've been told that story?"

"I really don't know." Harry answered glumly. "My aunt and uncle told me that my parents died in a car accident and that the scar was a result of that.

Daphne seemed to get a grip and her face suddenly morphed into a blank mask. "Stop it with the Ice Queen persona, Daph," Tracey said with a roll of her eyes.

"How many times have I told you to not call me Daph?" The blonde answered dryly.

There was a knock on the compartment door as a woman opened it with a trolley. "Food."

"Here, give me as much as this will buy." Harry said, handing the woman a handful of golden coins from his pocket. Tracey and Daphne's eyes bugged out as they handed her a few coins and asked for certain candies. "I'll share. I figure that will buy a lot based on your faces." Harry told the girls.

"Okay, thanks!" said Tracey.

The woman handed the three young children an assortment of candies.

"So I take that the two of you know what school will be like," Harry said in an attempt to gain some knowledge so he did not appear to be an idiot when he entered the school.

"Pretty much. What do you want to know?" Daphne said while opening a package of jelly beans with the name Bertie Bott's Every Flavor Beans on the front.

"I don't know — everything?" Harry answered.

"Well first of all, there will be a sorting hat there to sort us into our houses when we get there. The houses are Slytherin, the house for the sly and cunning; Gryffindor, the house for the brave and rash; Ravenclaw, the house for the smart people; and Hufflepuff, the house of the loyal. Most purebloods, like myself, are in Slytherin. Tracey is a half-blood but will still likely be in Slytherin." Daphne said off-handedly, pausing ever so often to inspect one of the beans before eating it.

"What are purebloods?" Harry asked.

"There are three blood types in the wizarding world. There are muggleborns, witches and wizards that were born from non-magical parents; half-bloods, witches and wizards who have a muggle or muggleborn parent along with a half-blood or pureblood parent; and finally, there are purebloods. They are born to the families that have almost no association with muggles or muggleborn." Tracey said.

Harry opened a package titled chocolate frog, and the frog-shaped chocolate jumped onto the window. Harry yelped in surprise before snatching it out of the air before it landed on Daphne's face.

"Wow. You'd be a great seeker!" raved Tracey.

"A — what?" Asked Harry.

"A player in the wizarding game quidditch." Daphne clarified.

"I'll ask about that in a second but first of all, who is this and why is he moving?" Harry asked, referring to the card he was holding from the chocolate frog package.

Daphne laughed and Tracey said, "That's Dumbledore, the headmaster at Hogwarts, and he is moving because that's what magical photos do."

Daphne and Tracey continued to explain things about the wizarding world to Harry as the train continued on its path. When it was time to get off, the trio headed to the boats that Hagrid was shouting about.

* * *

**A/N I'm going to end it here. This was a little long for my usual chapters, but I plan on making further chapters longer. **

**I am trying to decide if I want Harry in Gryffindor or Slytherin in this but I cannot decide. Review and tell me what you think. That does not mean that this is another of my trademark make-it-up-as-I-go fanfics because I have plenty of plans.**

**I hope y'all liked this first chapter! I know it was kinda boring but it's setting the scene and I wanted it to be kind of funny. I'll try to update once a week, probably on Sundays but no promises.**

**10-1-19 Fixed some mistakes pointed out to me in reviews.**

**-T**


	2. Sorting, Slytherins, and Spells

_Chapter 2_

_Sorting, Slytherins, and Spells_

_September 1, 1991_

_Hogwarts School of Witch Craft and Wizardry_

* * *

Harry Potter looked up at the expansive castle before him and the others in awe. The castle was made from stone with many different towers rising from it. An older woman with her gray hair tied into a neat knot met the group of first years at the front doors of the castle.

"This way!" She said in a raised voice in order for the children to hear her over their loud chatter.

Each of the first years followed the woman who introduced herself as the Deputy Headmistress, transfiguration teacher, and head of house Gryffindor, Professor McGonagall. The first years followed the woman with their eyes wondering around the castle in wonder. Harry walked alongside Daphne and Tracey with his eyes never resting. The group stopped outside some large, wooden doors.

"Listen up!" Professor McGonagall yelled. The hall went silent. "You will soon enter this hall and be sorted into your respective houses." She went on to explain the houses and the sorting process, but Harry zoned her out since Daphne and Tracey had explained this to him already.

A boy with his long blonde hair slicked back walked over to Harry and offered Harry his hand. "Draco Malfoy."

Harry reluctantly accepted the handshake since Draco had said nothing else. "Harry Potter," Harry introduced himself with a nod of his head.

Luckily, before anything else could be said between the duo, the doors opened to the Great Hall, as Professor McGonagall had called it, and the first years entered. There were many people pointing at Harry or whispering while looking at him. He assumed it had something to do with what Daphne and Tracey explained to him.

Harry ignored what was happening around him until Tracey. She had said that they would be called by alphabetical order of their last names. Tracey was sorted into Slytherin. He tuned everything out again until Daphne was called. As Harry knew her last name was Greengrass, he was well aware that his name would be called not too long afterward. He was also curious as to what house she would be sorted into.

"Slytherin!" the hat shouted soon after being placed on the young blonde's head.

Draco Malfoy was also sorted into Slytherin. The Sorting Hat did not have to even consider him. Harry noticed red-headed boy staring at him with curiosity and a bit of anger when he scanned the isle of first years. Soon after, the alphabet was nearing Potter. It was actually taking longer than Harry had anticipated.

"Harry Potter," Professor McGonagall shouted.

The whispers, looks, and points only magnified after Harry's name was called. He sat in the chair and the Sorting Hat was placed tenderly onto his head. **(A/N Was head lice not a problem at Hogwarts?) **

"Interesting," the Sorting Hat said into Harry's head. "Very interesting indeed. I remember your father being this same way. I do not know whether to put you into Gryffindor or Slytherin. You would do well in both houses. Do you have a preference?"

"Umm, I guess not. What house did my parents go into?" Harry sheepishly asked.

"They were in Gryffindor but I definitely see you doing well in Slytherin," replied the Sorting Hat.

"It isn't up to me is is?" Harry asked.

"Not unless you want it to be," the Sorting Hat replied vaguely.

"Just decide." Harry said firmly.

"Slytherin!" The Sorting Hat shouted out loud.

Harry was a little disappointed to be in a different house than his parents were, but he trusted the Sorting Hat's decision. He was happy to be in the same house as the girls he had met on the train.

The Slytherin table erupted in cheers. Harry smiled and took a seat next to Daphne. He quickly decided that he needed to make a couple of boy friends. The only friends he had made were Tracey and Daphne, if that is what you could call friends. Tracey turned and gave him an excited smile, to which Daphne joking rolled her eyes.

Harry scanned the boys around him looking for a possible friend in them. He did not have a good feeling about Draco Malfoy for some reason or another; he could not pinpoint it. There was another boy that had dark hair. He seemed to know Malfoy so Harry was weary of him, also. He moved onto the line of students that had yet to be sorted, thinking he might make friends with some of them, especially if they ended up in the same house as him. The red head was still staring at Harry with a bit of malice.

Another two boys sat near Malfoy. They were both on the heavy side. Hardy didn't catch their names, but they seemed to be brainless followers of the blonde. Neither of them seemed to have a mind of their own.

There was a dark skinned boy with dark hair near the middle of the remaining line that seemed kind enough. Harry decided he would observe his character before making any decisions, though. He also decided that he probably should have done that with Tracey and Daphne, but Tracey was too enthusiastic and kind from the beginning for Harry to believe there was much to worry about with her. Even Daphne warmed up to him after a bit, and she never struck Harry as rude or a bad person, just closed off. He just hoped he had made good friend choices.

The red head that was creeping Harry out was called — his name was Ron Weasley — and he was sorted into Gryffindor. The table erupted into whoops and and hollers for him. Harry noted that the noise was mostly coming from two identical red heads that must have been related to him. Harry wanted to make sure that he stayed as far as possible from them for a reason he could not decide on.

When the boy Harry thought would make a good friend was called, Harry made a note to remember his name, Blaise Zabini. He was sorted into Slytherin, so Harry took this as good news for himself.

Food suddenly appeared on the table after Blaise sat down since he was the last of the first years to be sorted. There was more food within a foot of Harry than he had ever seen — much less eaten — in his life. He loaded his plate with meat, vegetables, and soup.

"What is this?" Harry whispered to Daphne, motioning to the goblet of orange liquid in front of him.

"Pumpkin juice," Daphne whispered back.

"Thanks."

Dessert soon appeared, and, although he was already full, Harry continued to eat the sweet treats in front of him. When everyone was done eating, a man with greasy, dark hair walked up with a scowl on his face.

"I am your head of house, Professor Snape. I also teach potions. Your Head Boy will now lead you to the dungeons to the dorms," he uttered in a monotone voice.

His robe swished behind him like one of the carnival rides that Harry observed on the television back at the Dursleys'. Harry stood and followed a teenager around the age of seventeen who introduced himself as Gregory Jockey. He lead them down a staircase into the stone cold dungeons. He lead them into the common room that was decked out in green and sliver. Large couches and armchairs were in the middle of the room around the fireplace. There were desks and tables scattered about the room. The ceilings were very high with details on the walls traveling upward.

"Girls' dorms," Jeffrey said, pointing to the righthand staircase. "Boys'," he said, motioning to the other side. "Your stuff is already up there. Have fun."

At that, Jeffrey turned around and walked to a couch were he began conversing with some guys. Harry made his way to the boys' dorm staircase behind Blaise with Malfoy and the other boy leading the way. They navigated their way to the door labeled 'First years.'

The room was circular with six, four-poster beds with green and silver curtains and sheets. Beside each bed, there was a nightstand and wardrobe. A large, silver rug was in the center of the room. There was a door to the side that Harry supposed held the bathroom. There were trunks at the edge of each bed, so Harry walked to the one with his trunk at the edge.

Harry was exhausted from his long day, so he quickly changed and laid down to sleep. However, sleep avoided him and he lay awake listening to the other boys talk. Malfoy and the other boys, Nott, Crabbe, and Goyle, as Harry learned, seemed to be plotting against people. At least Nott and Malfoy were, Harry figured out that the fat, brainless followers were Crabbe and Goyle. Blaise, on the other hand, ignored ever time the other two tried to get him to join their group. Harry decided then and there that Blaise Zabini would be a good person for him to become friends with.

Harry drifted off to sleep eventually.

* * *

_September 2, 1991_

Harry awoke to his shoulder being shaken. He groggily opened his eyes, but he could only make out a blurry figure without his glasses on.

"Wake up," the figure whispered. "Breakfast starts in an hour and classes start right after that. You need to get up now if you want a shower."

"Thanks," said Harry as he set up and put on his glasses.

"No problem," Blaise replied with a kind smile. "The others aren't yet awake so I suggest you're quiet."

Harry nodded his head before gathering his things and going into the bathroom. He took a quick shower before getting dressed in his school robes which he now noticed had the Slytherin crest and a green and silver striped tie.

He bounced down the dorm steps and into the common room thinking about how grateful he was to be out of the broom cupboard and to have the possibility of friends. He knew that his aunt, uncle, and cousin had taken a lot from him, but this was a new day and a new life. Harry would make the most of it.

* * *

Harry's first charms class was the most interesting of the day. He, Tracey, Daphne, and Blaise sat at the same table. Their half-goblin professor gave them an example of how to perform the spell _Lumos__._ This spell would illuminate the end of the wand.

Harry and Daphne cast the spell at the same time and the ends of their wands lit up. Daphne's glowed lightly and simply.

However, Harry's light pretty much exploded. The light made the whole room flash before it dimmed slightly; it was still much brighter than it should have been. Professor Flitwick came over to the young, raven-haired boy after seeing the encounter. Harry looked up at his teacher, attempting to blink the spots out of his vision.

"Do you need help, Mr. Potter?" Professor Flitwick asked the wizard, fighting back a smile.

He was reminding the teacher much of his mother's first try. Later, they had learned that Lily Potter had a large magical core, and her first actual work of magic brought out too much of her magical strength. The professor was smiled internally at the memory of one of his favorite students. The memory soon turned to anger toward the evil wizard who killed the witch who would likely turn into one of the best minds in the wizarding world.

The half-goblin flicked his wrist and Harry's wand went back to normal.

The professor kindly stated, "Try softer words next time, maybe even whispering."

"Yes, sir." Harry replied.

Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne snickered at the boy from around him. Harry half-heartedly glared at his housemates before trying again. At some point during Harry's failure, Blaise and Tracey both had the end of their wand softly glowing, if only a little in Blaise's case.

* * *

Harry spent the day in classes. He spoke mostly to Tracey. The few times he spoke to Daphne, she seemed to be more closed off than she had been the day before, also as if she remembered herself. Harry remembered Tracey saying something about Daphne being the 'Ice Queen,' but she never explained the name to him.

Harry also spoke to Blaise some during the classes. In fact, they sat together in most classes since they had to sit two to a table. Harry decided from their few conversations that Blaise would definitely be a good friend to make.

Now, he sat in the common room working on the Transfiguration homework that Professor McGonagall had assigned. He got some help from Tracey with Daphne throwing in little points. Blaise sat beside Harry, listening to the girls explain the work.

Malfoy was going around to the older kids in the common room, announcing to them that 'his daddy was rich and could slowly take down their families if they were to cross him.' Little did he know, people were laughing him off once he walked away.

Harry thought back to some of his classes of the morning and how the red haired boy, Ron Weasley, was glaring at him throughout the few classes they shared. Harry was unsure of why the boy was looking at him with such malice but he decided he would talk to Daphne and Tracey about it soon.

Another Gryffindor in the class was a know-it-all. She literally knew the answers to every question before the question was even out of the professor's mouth. Her hand constantly shot up like a ball out of a cannon, and the teachers had yet to stump her. Harry eventually decided that she was exasperating the teachers to no end because she never gave the other students a chance to speak.

Finally, he thought about the Gryffindor that blew up a caldron in Potions. He thought Snape had called him Longbottom, but the name was unusual enough that Harry was uncertain if he heard it wrong. He felt sorry for the boy, for he was making mistakes, too. Plus, Snape seemed much more partial to Slytherins.

"Harry!" Tracey's voice broke Harry out of his daydream. He blinked rapidly and say spots all over Tracey's face since he zoned out on the fire.

"Sorry, I zoned out," Harry said sheepishly.

"It's fine, now get back to work. What is the first law of Transfiguration?" Tracey asked.

"How am I supposed to know?" Harry exclaimed exaggeratedly.

"Because it's in the book." Daphne said like it was the most obvious thing ever.

Harry stuck out his tongue at her.

* * *

**A/N So my plan was to make this around 4k words but I wanted to get this up.**

**Now to address reviews from guests and such. (BTW I'm honored that I had to use Google Translate on like 5 reviews!)**

**Yes, I know the last chapter was short. I literally put that in the author's note of the last chapter. I am literally in high school with homework.**

**(These are just quick things to address.) Since I am in high school I obviously am not going to have perfect grammar. I also haven't read the books in a LONG time to I'm kind partially going by FanFics (yes I've been reading pretty credible ones.)**

**I fixed a few things such as the fact that is was brought to my attention that Tracey is a half blood.**

**Also sorry about how long the introductions were in the last chapter and how I didn't put much detail about what Tracey and Daphne were telling Harry but I was afraid I would bore y'all.**

**I am also sorry that Harry is in Slytherin to those of you who wanted Gryffindor. I got some incredible arguments from the Gryffindor people in the reviews but the poll had Slytherin as a result. I may make another fic in the future of Harry in Gryffindor with basically the same outline. But I've got some plans for this Harry. **

**Finally, I've seen a lot of fics where Harry is young like 13-15 and acting like a literal adult. Like most girls aren't that mature at that age and we all know girls are more mature than boys at that age. Because of this, y'all may think Harry is acting childish throughout this, but he is 11. And very few 11-year-olds are very mature. So remember that.**

**Thanks for all of the reads, follows, favorites, and reviews. Remember to only give me constructive criticism all you want but I'd appreciate no hate.**

**-T**


	3. Weekends, Wizards, and Witches

Chapter 3

Weekends, Wizards, and Witches

September 7, 1991

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

* * *

Harry awoke to sunlight streaming through the windows and footsteps around him. He checked the time; it was 8:30.

"Morning," Blaise said with a nod of his head.

"Good morning," Harry replied.

"What are the girls planning on making us do again?" Blaise asked.

"Was it something meeting others?" Harry asked.

Blaise replied. "Sounds about right."

Harry was gathering his things when Blaise answered him. He walked into the bathroom and changed into some of Dudley's old, baggy clothes, before brushing his messy hair and brushing his teeth. Soon after, Harry met Blaise and the girls in the common room.

"Sorry, someone woke me up too late," Harry apologized to the girls.

"Hmmm, why would Malfoy do that?" Blaise asked sarcastically.

"You know very well who did that," Harry retorted.

Blaise stuck his tongue out at Harry and the girls shared a look and an eye roll.

The group of four headed up to the Great Hall. The expansive room was filled with students of all ages eating breakfast. They sat down at the table and filled their plates with the warm, comforting food. Harry was still getting used to being cooked for and eating a decent amount of food rather than cooking for the Dursleys and only getting to eat their leftovers. Being their size, they had very, very few leftovers.

While at the table, Daphne explained to the boys what would be happening that day with Tracey throwing in her crazy comments. Sometimes Harry couldn't tell how the two girls managed to be such good friends. In many aspects, they were polar opposites.

After a week of classes together, Daphne had finally begun to warm up to Blaise and Harry. She was still a little cold and definitely closed off. Tracey never did explain the Ice Queen part, and Harry expected her to explain soon enough. Harry often caught Tracey staring at Blaise and he began to wonder if she may have a bit of a crush on the dark-skinned boy.

Before all of the young witches and wizards began to trickle of out the expansive room, Dumbledore stood up to make an announcement. He told all of the first years to stay in the Great Hall until everyone left. Harry was nervous because he did not really want to converse with his year-mates of the other houses, but he knew it could be beneficial for him in the future.

Once the Great Hall was cleared of older kids, the first years looked up at the teaches expectedly. "Slytherins, get up and go speak to the other houses." Snape snapped.

There were many Slytherins, mostly Malfoy's group, that groaned quietly, but they all complied. Groups of friends went separate ways, but Harry and his group Ravenclaw table since it was closest. Harry and Blaise simply followed the girls around like puppies and only spoken when necessary. First, they talked to a pretty, Indian girl named Padma Patil. She was kind, but Harry was unsure if she would ever become one of his friends. She did, however, seem to get along easily with both Daphne and Tracey.

Next to Padma, sat two girls who were whispering to one another and glancing at Harry. One looked slightly horse-like, while the other was Asain. It unnerved the poor boy, but he was getting more and more used to the stares and whispers as he was at Hogwarts longer. The boys could tell that Tracey and Daphne were not fans of these girls in the first place, but the outgoing Tracey still tried to be civil. These girls introduced themselves with a sneer to Tracey. Their names were Mandy Brocklehurst and Su Li. The four friends stayed around them for a very short amount of time.

Finally, they reacher two other girls named Lisa and Morag. Neither of them was mean to the four friends, but they were not exactly friendly.

Harry and Blaise took the lead as they reached the boys of Ravenclaw. Blaise was the main talker as Harry was shy. First, they met three boys named Anthony Goldstein, Kevin Entwhistle, and Stephen Cornfoot. Those three boys were about like they last two girls the group spoke to.

At the end of the table, two boys with easy smiles nodded their heads to the group.

"Hey, I'm Terry Boot and this is Michael Corner," said the boy with lighter hair, looking at Harry.

"I'm Blaise Zabini and this is Harry Potter. Behind us are Daphne Greengrass and Tracey Davis," Blaise introduced.

"Shut up, Zabini," Terry said. "I've known you and Greengrass since we were kids."

"I know," Blaise said with a laugh. "You don't know Tracey and Harry, though."

"Everyone knows Potter, who are you kidding?" Terry answered.

"We better move on," Daphne said with a falsely sweet smile, pushing Blaise away.

"Hey, what was that for?" Blaise exclaimed once they reached the Hufflepuff table.

"You're a man. You would've talked to him about nothing all day," Daphne practically growled.

"Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah," Blaise muttered under his breath, earning a punch. "Ow!"

Daphne just smiled before turning to the redheaded, brunette, and blonde girls in front of her. "Hey!"

Tracey and Daphne talked to the girls, Susan Bones, Megan Jones, and Hannah Abbott, for a minute before walking away. They were both nice and seemed like they would be good people to make friends with.

Harry thought that Susan Bones, the redheaded girl, would be a good addition to their group of friends.

They then moved on to the boys of Hufflepuff. In the middle of the large table, sat two boys who had kind faces. Down the table, Draco Malfoy and his friends were talking to two other boys, and they seemed to be getting along very well.

The group stopped and talked to the nearest two boys. Their names were Ernie Macmillan and Justin Finch-Fletchley. They were both kind, but neither seemed to be the kind of people that Harry could see himself being friends with. With dread, Harry and his friends walked over to the other two boys once Malfoy left.

The first boy, Zacharias Smith, as Harry learned from Ernie beforehand, was gruff and not very nice to them. Wayne Hopkins, however, was civil toward the group of four. They left the two boys alone very quickly.

Finally, Harry, Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne walked over to the Gryffindor table. A girl with busy hair was sitting on the end. Daphne and she had a conversation and they seemed to like one another. She was the girl that was always a know-it-all in class. Harry was not a fan of her at first, but she seemed kind and lonely when talking to Daphne, which caused Harry to sympathize with her. Hermione, the girl, was very smart and seemed to be one of the few people on the same level as Daphne, if not on a higher level.

Harry looked down the table for the redhead who always stared at him. Harry was relieved to see him at the other end of the table. He wanted to deal with him as little as possible.

They moved on to three other girls that seemed to be keeping their distance from Hermione. They were whispering behind their hands and staring at Harry throughout their extremely short conversation with Daphne. Harry absolutely hated the attention he was getting from the three girls who seemed to be gossipers. Their names were Romilda Vane, Lavender Brown, and Parvati Patil, Padma's twin.

They finally made it to the boys. By this time, all four friends were tired of walking around at trying to talk to people. Luckily, Harry was getting a good idea of the people that he wanted to steer away from.

There was a round-faced boy sitting alone. His brunette hair was cut short.

"H-i, I-I'm Ne-Neville," He shakily introduced himself.

"I know who you are, Longbottom," Blaise laughed.

Neville seemed scared of Blaise, so Harry decided to talk to the terrified boy.

"Hi, Neville. I'm Harry. How have you liked Hogwarts so far?" Harry asked tenderly.

"F-fine," Neville said quietly.

Harry desperately wanted to help the poor boy, but he had no idea how. He decided to just say farewell to the poor boy and try to talk to him again later.

They continued on to two other boys by the names of Seamus Finnigan and Dean Thomas. Neither boy was mean, but they were not really the kind of people Harry felt compelled to spend time attempting to make friends out of.

Finally, they made it to the redhaired boy who Harry was not a friend of.

"Hi," Blaise said kindly after sneering at Harry. Harry had voiced his dislike of the boy.

"Hello, Zabini," Weasley, as Malfoy had called him, said. "How are you, Harry?" he asked politely.

Harry was taken aback by the kindness the rather rude boy was not showing. "I'm good, I guess."

"That's good."

"Okay, nice talking to you," Daphne quickly said.

The group headed back to the Slytherin table and took their seats about the same time as Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson did.

"Slytherins, say put if you'd like. If you want, you may leave," Dumbledore said as Harry sat. "Ravenclaws, you may make your way around to the other tables."

"Let's leave," Blaise said.

"I second that!" Harry exclaimed, wanting to get out of the room as soon as possible.

"I'm fine with that. I need to say something in private to the three of you, anyway," Daphne said before standing.

The group headed outside to the lake. It was a warm day for Scottland, and Harry the group was hoping to enjoy it before the cold sat in. They walked around to the back of the lake, and they found a large rock sitting on the shore. They took their seats on the rock and looked out across the lake for a few seconds before Harry broke the silence to ask Daphne what she wanted to say.

"I think Weasley's up to something." She simply stated.

"I had no idea," Tracey replied sarcastically.

"Oh har har, let me finish," Daphne begun. "I think he is trying to get Harry to do something like becoming his friend. Have you noticed Dumbledore staring at us during meals? He was also watching us talk to Weasley very, very closely. I think Dumbledore has asked Weasley to be your friend for some reason or another. I've also seen the two of them walk into dinner together, searching the Slytherin table for the four of us."

The group let the information sink in for a minute before replying. "I don't know, Daph, that's a little out there." Tracey said, earning a smack for using the name 'Daph.'

"I don't know, Tracey. It makes sense. I just want to know how Daphne manages to pay that much attention," Harry said.

"I don't know, Harry, other than the part about paying extreme attention, I'm kinda on the same page as Tracey," Blaise said.

"Whatever, just watch Dumbledore and Weasley a little more closely for the next few days and tell me if you still don't believe me or not," Daphne said.

* * *

_September 8, 1991_

Harry awoke from the sun streaming through the window and into his eyes. After checking the time, he decided that he would get up from his comfy bed.

Harry showered and got ready for the day before heading out into the dorm room again. Blaise was not yet awake, and it was 7:30. Thus, Harry concluded he would shake Blaise's arm to wake the boy. Blaise woke with a start.

"Oh, come on, Harry. I was sleeping well!" Blaise exclaimed once he realized why he was abruptly awoken.

"I don't care. I'd prefer to not keep the girls waiting on us," Harry retorted.

Blaise said with a pout, "Okay, fine, but I'm still not happy."

"I didn't expect you to be."

Ten minutes later, Harry and Blaise walked down the steps and into the commons. The girls were not yet there, so they took a seat on the plush couch and waited. Neither boy was very happy about waiting, as their stomachs were both growling loudly, but they decided that if they wanted to live, then they better wait. If Tracey did not kill them both first, Daphne would.

The boys only had to wait for Daphne and Tracey in a few minutes. Both girls raised an eyebrow in surprise about the boys beating them. "About time you two waited on us. That's how it's supposed to work." Tracey laughed.

Daphne laughed along with her friend until footsteps were heard on the steps. That's when her mask slid firmly in place and she was the Ice Queen again.

"Let's go," Harry said. He rolled his eyes at Tracey and glanced at Daphne.

Tracey vigorously nodded and muttered, "I know, right?" to Harry when she walked past.

Harry told Tracey to hang back a bit so he could ask her something, which she did. Once Daphne and Blaise were a few steps ahead, Harry whispers a question to Tracey.

"What's up with the Ice Queen name?"

"Oh, it's nothing. You see, I grew up in the pureblood society, regardless of the fact that I'm a half-blood. The pureblood kids always have huge birthday parties with all of the important families in attendance. Daphne and I ave been friends forever, so when she had her prueblood parties, I was there. When it was just the two of us, she was the normal, happy girl that you see glimpses of. However, she always closed off when others were around, especially at her parties. Since she became so cold, I started calling her the Ice Queen. Plus, her birthday is in the middle of January, so it kinda fits." Tracey explained.

"Okay," said Harry. "I get it."

"You do realize I would have told you that, right Potter?" Daphne called back.

Harry snickered into his hand and jogged to catch up with the blonde girl and dark-haired boy ahead of him.

* * *

After lunch, the group went back to the rock they had sat on the day before just to relax. Daphne read while Blaise and Harry played a game of wizard's chess and talked to Tracey. Harry had begun to learn the unusual game at the beginning of the week once he was finished with the homework for the week. The sun was beating down on their backs, warming the slightly cool Sunday morning.

"Does anyone know anything about my family?" Harry asked his friends curiously.

Daphne put down her book at the question and said, "Yeah, I do."

"Then tell me!" Harry exclaimed impatiently.

"First of all, Blaise, you tell him what you know," at Blaise's questioning look, Daphne added: "You probably know less than I do."

"Okay, so I know that you are filthy rich and that you're the end of the mainline," Blaise said. "That's about it..."

"See, I knew you knew less than me," Daphne stated evenly, not like she was bragging. "Your family is notorious for their strong magical cores, making them very strong wizards and witches. I'm going to assume that's why your first spell went as haywire as it did. Anyway, what Blaise said is true, you are rich, except no one knows exactly how rich. Probably more so than the Malfoys, if I'm guessing." Daphne took a break while Blaise did a victory dance at winning. "There are rumors that you are descended from Gryffindor— though I hope I'm not hanging around his descent, as that could get me into some trouble— but no one really knows for sure. Same goes for Nicolas Flamel, the wizard who discovered the Philosopher's Stone."

"Okay... is my family very important?" Harry asked.

"Oh yes, you will someday be the lord of one of the richest families, have an extremely influential seat in the Wizengamot, and the Potters are an ancient and noble house." Daphne rattled off.

"Wait, lord, Wizengamot, and ancient and noble house, what the heck do you mean?" Harry asked, baffled.

"The lord of a wizard family means that you have all of the power in the family, access to the vaults, and the Wizengamot seat. Basically, you'll have all of the authority in the house. The Wizengamot is the high court and is made up of mainly pureblood men. They make all the decisions in magical Britain. An ancient and noble house is basically a large, old, rich family." Blaise added.

"Blaise and I are both from Noble houses since our families are less important and not as old as other houses like the Potters and the Malfoys," Daphne added.

"Okay, I think I get it. Thanks for explaining some stuff to me." Harry said.

* * *

**A/N I'm going to end it here because there was so much in this chapter. I know it's kinda short and took me forever to get up. ****I had an ortho appointment one night, school carnival the next, no time to write the next day, then I had a student council trip after school, and I got my braces off, all since I last updated. ****Plus, the first 1,500 words took me forever because I was constantly going between a forum list of who's in what house and Harry Potter Fandom to get friendships right. I know, I've changed some stuff, but I'm not sticking to the books, ****obviously.**

**I don't want 5 reviews saying that I ****introduced too many people at once because really, I didn't. I basically just gave you an idea of who might be important. There will be real introductions to different parties later on. **

**I want someone who really knows the timeline of the books to help me out, though, so someone please volunteer. It's been like 5 years since I've read the books so I don't really know. I actually read them back when I was proud of myself for reading the 7th book in 2 weeks. So yeah, it's been a while.**

**Anyway, thanks for reading! I appreciate each and every follow, favorite, view, and review from y'all!**

**-T**


	4. Dumbledore, Daphne, and Draco

**A/N Since so many of you seem to not be reading my author's notes at the end, I want to address something first and foremost:**

**I had a simi-rude comment from a guest about a spelling mistake. Duh, if I accidentally spell silver 'sliver,' then it is my mistake. As I've previously mentioned, I am in ****HIGH SCHOOL,**** and I am no English major. I am going to make mistakes and I prefer to not have a Beta reader because I would like to try and update regularly. I am also open to constructive criticism, but I'd prefer no smart-allelic remarks about my grammar. Please simply point out that I spelled something wrong and I will go back to change it. I am, however, going to consider a Beta since the HP fandom is much more critical than the Divergent (that I have recently moved on from), but I do not see myself getting one.**

**Furthermore, I was told that their conversations were "unnatural", at first, I kind of agreed. Writing conversations is not my strong suit. However, I looked back, and I decided their conversations were fair. They were talking to people that they did not necessarily know, which is hard for kids, ****especially people like Daphne, the closed-off part, and Harry, the non-attention seeker. I think that was fair for kids their age because I'm a few years older than them and I can see myself and people I know talking exactly that way, ****especially boys. **

**Moral of that above, please at least tell me something that I did well when you leave comments like that, be more specific about what you are saying to me, and get an account so I don't have to type 500 words about a guest comment. I WANT CONSTRUCTIVE CRITICISM, not "you something wrong but I'm not going to explain what and not tell you anything else other than what you did wrong."**

**Now that I am done angrily ranting, onto another problem: I've forgotten a disclaimer. So, I'm pretty sure that y'all understand that I don't own Harry Potter, and I'm simply taking random ideas from my brain about the ****_Harry Potter _****series and putting it into writing to publish on the internet. This goes for the whole FanFic.**

**Without further ado, the part you're actually here for: **

* * *

Chapter 4

Dumbledore, Daphne, and Draco

September 9, 1991

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

* * *

Harry awoke to Draco Malfoy shouting at his disciples. With a groan, he sat up and glared at the blonde on the other side of the room. To his right, Blaise was snickering at the appearance of the boy's crazed hair and deathly glare.

With a huff and a groan, Harry sat up and grabbed some clothes. As far as he knew, he was the only boy in the dorm showering in the morning, but he was unsure if Crabbe or Goyle ever showered. Because of this, it was easier for Harry to shower in the morning. He also had fairly frequent nightmares that caused him to sweat in the middle of the night.

Once Harry was done in the bathroom, Blaise rose from his covers and gotten dressed. As soon as the dark-skinned boy brushed his teeth, they met the girls in the commons. For once, all four members of the Slytherin Four reached the common room at the same time. With light chatter, they traveled the distance to the Great Hall for breakfast.

"Daphne, I meant to ask how you knew so much about my family," Harry wondered aloud as they reached the large, oak doors.

"Oh yeah, my dad had both my sister and me memorize some background information about the most prominent families at a young age. His reasoning was something along the lines of being a 'society lady who can carry on a conversation with anyone important'," she said with quotes on the last part. "Personally, I think it was stupid, especially seeing the 'Ice Queen' persona I hold around people."

Tracey giggled Daphne's explanation, and the group grabbed food from the center of the table.

"What's our first class?" Blaise asked the girls.

"Charms." Harry, Daphne, and Tracey said in unison.

"Wow, you actually knew, Potter," Daphne said in surprise.

"Hey, I may be a guy, but I'm going to at least try to do good in school," Harry added defensively.

Tracey scoffed. "Whatever."

Blaise exclaimed: "Hey, have some faith in Harry!"

"Thanks, man," Harry said with a glare at Tracey.

Tracey raised her hands up defensively, and Harry went back to eating with a shake of his head and a low chuckle. Daphne was still giggling from Tracey's comment and it only intensified when Harry glared at the brunette.

* * *

After Charms, the group had a Defense Against the Dark Arts class joint with Gryffindor. Harry was not a fan of this class because of the fact Ron Weasley was in it and that the teacher, Professor Quirrel, was terrible. Despite this, Harry seemed to be a natural at the subject matter.

That day, they read from the textbook about the dangers of using unidentified curses on others. Harry was bored out of his mind and began flipping pages to read about some of the spells and how to perform them.

"Mr. Potter!" Quirrel yelled. "Name one reason unidentified curses are dangerous."

"They could backfire." Harry guessed, but he answered confidently.

Quirrel seemed annoyed when he answered, "That would be correct. Stay on the right page, though. Five points to Slytherin."

Harry smiled as he flipped back to page 394, where he was supposed to be reading from.

* * *

At lunch, Dumbledore asked Harry to come to his office at 8:00 P.M. that night. He told Harry the password, lemon drop, and walked away without any further explanation.

"Any idea?" Harry whispered to Daphne, hoping she would have an idea.

"Possibly. I'll have to explain later, though." Daphne answered back. "I'd appreciate if Tracey and Blaise would believe my theory, though."

"I do now," Blaise said with fear in his eyes at the deathly glare he was receiving. Harry chuckled but said nothing.

Tracey said boldly, "I don't."

"Of course you don't," Daphne said icily.

"Sorry, but I just don't see how that man," Tracey gestured to the headmaster, " could be so manipulative. I mean look at him for Merlin's sake! And that Weasley boy may be annoying but I don't think he would be plotting against Harry."

"He would if Dumbledore convinced him. I mean look at the way Weasel looks at Dumbledore, it's like Dumbledore is Merlin himself," Daphne protested.

Tracey huffed. "That's how everyone looks at Dumbledore aside from you."

"Neither does Potter."

"Leave me out of this and stop fighting!" Harry exclaimed.

* * *

The group had a free period after lunch, so they found their spot on the lake to allow Daphne to explain her theory.

"I think he is going to try to talk you into being friends with Weasley," Daphne simply stated.

Tracey, always putting in her two pennies, said, "It may not be the worst idea."

"Why do you say that? Is it the 'Dumbledore isn't dangerous' thing or a Slytherin thing?" Blaise asked skeptically.

"The first option."

Daphne rolled her eyes before saying, "A Slytherin idea may not be the worst thing in the world."

"What do you mean?" Harry asked. "Wouldn't a Slytherin say that I should agree just to try and get an ear on Dumbledore?"

"Exactly what I was thinking," Daphne agreed with an evil grin.

"What?" asked Harry. "I was joking. That would be a horrible idea because there's no way in Merlin's beard that I could keep something like that up."

Daphne rolled her eyes and looked at Blaise. "We've gotta teach him how to be a proper Slytherin."

Blaise agreed and Harry groaned. "Don't worry. You could use some Slytherin boot camp, anyway. You act a little Gryffindorish sometimes."

"And that matters why? Both my parents were Gryffindors and I do not see anything wrong with that." Harry defended.

Daphne looked Harry dead in the eyes and said: "There's nothing wrong with it but if you want to get through life boldly doing things without thought or consideration, then you aren't going to get far in life. AT. ALL." Her voice was void of emotion yet strong and leaving no room for argument.

After letting the blonde's words sink in for a little bit, Harry nodded once. "Okay."

"Yay!" Tracey said with a crazy grin. She had been silent for too long and Harry was afraid of what she was plotting.

* * *

When classes were finally over for the day, Harry made his way to the common room so he could get started on his homework for the week that he'd received. First of all, he had to read a chapter of the Charms textbook about various charms that were commonly used as everyday spells. When he was done reading, Harry decided to talk to Blaise for the few minutes they had before dinner was served.

Harry still had homework to finish up after dinner, but he needed help from the girls on it. Daphne was the chosen subject for help on the work since it was Transfiguration, something that the girl seemed to excel in.

As 8:00 neared, Harry got extremely nervous. For the past hour, his three friends had been teaching him what to do should Dumbledore bring up Ron in their meeting. Harry was unsure if he could pull off the Slytherin moves as he had never done anything of the sort before, but he was confident that he could pull something together out of the scenarios the group presented him with.

When Harry arrived at Dumbledore's office door, he said lemon drop to the griffon guarding the door and waited for the creature to move aside.

When climbing the stairs, Harry heard the sounds of voices grow increasingly louder. He was unsure about what he should do, but before he could knock, he heard the voice of none other than Ron Weasley.

"I'm not associating with snakes!" Ron yelled at the old man.

"I'm sorry, my boy, but you have to stop Mr. Potter from turning into a snake himself. The best way to do that is by becoming his friend." Dumbledore replied calmly.

"But being around a snake will completely ruin my reputation in the Gryffindor house. Plus, everyone knows that snakes are sneaky, lying, jerks." Ron yelled back.

Harry's blood was already boiling in his veins at all of the cruel words being spoken about him and his friends by Ron and Dumbledore.

"Look, the key the whole rest of your life is you making friends with him and helping guide him straight into my hands."

"No!" Ron shouted. "I am not risking my whole reputation and my dignity just to help you gain a minion!"

Harry heard footsteps and dove behind the door as the redhaired boy opened the door and slammed it shut. Harry did not want to enter the office, but he knew that he needed to do as his friends had taught him.

After waiting a minute or two so the headmaster would not get suspicious, Harry reluctantly knocked.

"Come in," Dumbledore called.

"Hello, Headmaster," Harry said kindly. "How are you tonight?"

"I am well, my boy. Would you like a lemon drop?"

Harry replied. "No thank you, sir."

"Please take a seat." Dumbledore motioned one of the two chairs in front of his tidy desk.

Harry glanced around the room and saw a large fireplace. He wondered if it served a different purpose considering its huge size. A mythical looking bird was in a cage behind the wooden desk. There were many paintings on the wall with moving people in them.

"I would like to talk to you about how your first week was. Have you had fun?" Dumbledore asked.

"Yes, Headmaster, I had a great week," answered Harry, wondering why the Headmaster started out with such an innocent question.

"How have you liked your house and housemates?" _Ah, the million-dollar question, _thought Harry.

As per Daphne's instructions, Harry replied, "I have a few housemates that I am unsure of, but I've made friends. However, I would like to make some friends with some classmates from other houses. Do you have any suggestions?"

"Well, let me think here for a bit... Ron Weasley is a kind boy." Dumbledore suggested, just as expected.

"I will definitely try to speak to him. You don't think there will be any problems considering that we are from rival houses, do you?" Harry was meticulously following the directions his friends gave him.

"Ah, that could present some difficulties, but I will assure that there will be no problems from any of your housemates, or Ron's."

"That will be incredible," Harry said with as genuine of a smile as he could possibly muster.

"You may now go to your dorm," Dumbledore said with his grandfatherly smile.

"Thank you, Headmaster, I hope you have a good night," Harry bid him farewell.

The old wizard's eyes twinkled. "Same to you, my boy."

Harry made it back to the Slytherin common room in record time. He quickly scanned the room for his friends, and when he saw them in the back corner, sitting around a table, he rushed straight to the round table.

Tracey saw the raven-haired boy first, so she rushed to his side, demanding to know what the headmaster had said.

"Okay, okay, just a second!" Harry said exasperatedly. "I need to tell everyone about it."

Harry sat at the chair in the very corner of the common room. He motioned for everyone to scoot closer to him before he furthermore explained his discussion with the old wizard. He quietly recounted the conversation with everyone, emphasizing what he overheard.

"Wow... I-I'm at a loss for words. I guess that you were right, Daphne," Tracey admitted sheepishly.

"I'm always right," Daphne said sarcastically. "But thank you, Tracey. I'm glad you see my point, even if it took it being bluntly obvious in your face."

"Sorry, Daph," Tracey got an angry glare from her best friend, "but I've always been taught to look up to the old man so it was a bit of a habit to do so."

"I understand. There are a lot of people who feel that way about Dumbledore, so I understand why it could be natural to not suspect anything from him. At the same time, I probably would have been the same way if I weren't so naturally suspicious and observant," Daphne said in an understanding tone.

The girls hugged while Harry and Blaise looked at one another and pretended to throw up. "Shut up," Tracey said to the boys and Daphne slapped Harry on the bicep.

"Sorry," Harry and Blaise said in unison.

The first talked about what they should do about Dumbledore quietly as the common room emptied around them. They only stayed about fifteen minutes after the last person left.

* * *

_September 10, 1991_

Harry woke up the next morning to and heard Draco Malfoy speaking to Theodore Nott from across the room. Curious about their conversation, Harry did not move.

"Look, Nott, if you can't handle doing something this harmless, then you aren't going t be able to handle anything in the future. I'm giving you one warning: either you stick with us and go through with my plans, or you leave me now and don't come crawling back when you want into the spotlight of the wizarding world later." Draco said in a treating manner.

Nott seemed to be surprised and quickly replied, "Okay, okay. I'll go through with it."

"Good."

* * *

"Hey, Daphne, I heard something earlier that I need you to decipher for me," Harry whispered while they were studying in the library after their last class. The conversation he overheard earlier in the day had yet to leave his mind, and he wanted answers. Daphne seemed to be the most likely out of his trusted people to be able to understand the meaning.

Daphne looked up with a scowl and put down the quill she had been vigorously writing with. "Yes?"

"I overheard something that Malfoy said this morning and I was wondering if you might have some ideas of what it means," Harry said somewhat sheepishly at the look he was receiving.

"Okay, but are you positive you heard him correctly?"

Harry answered, relieved. "Yeah, his voice was the only sound in the room."

"Okay then, what did he say?" Daphne said.

Harry recounted the conversation. "That definitely sounds like something Malfoy would say," Daphne said thoughtfully. "It sounds to me like he's planning to prank someone. It's probably nothing to worry about, but try to listen more closely to things he says to those minions of his. We may need to keep an eye on him, but I doubt it."

"Okay, but I have a question: Why does he walk around like he owns the place when no one actually listens to him?" Harry asked the blonde.

"He had money and his dad owns half the ministry, but no of the Malfoys are aware that no one takes them seriously. Lucius, Draco's father, thinks the Minister listens to every word he says, but, little does he know, the Minister could care less what the Malfoy's say or do. The only reason they are so oblivious is that everyone has to keep them happy. They have too much money to allow them on your bad side."

"Oh, that makes sense, I guess," Harry said thoughtfully.

"Is that all?" Daphne asked. "I'd like to get back to my essay."

"Yeah, that's all." Harry said.

* * *

**A/N Yes, another one.**

**Thank y'all for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and/or following!**

**It came to my attention through a guest review that J.K. Rowling said that Daphne was a brunette and good at Arithmancy and Divination. I was already planning on making her good in those subjects, but her hair color is not changing, sorry.**

**Another guest told me that Romilda is two years younger, but she's not in this story. Bring these types of things to my attention, and I may or may not fit it in. It just depends.**

**I know the fact that Daphne is in the title is kinda confusing, but I thought it was fitting since she's a big part of this chapter.**

**Is the amount of bashing in this too much? I like this amount but I know I was asked for not too much in a review from the beginning.**

**Were the conversations in this one better?**

**I have a plan for once so I know what Malfoy is planning but I hardly ever plan when writing so yeah... (Like legit I usually make up a title with alliteration and then fit all of the things in the title into the story.)**

**ALSO: Sorry for the late update but I was gone all weekend without internet and I didn't get a ton of writing time throughout the week.**

**Please add this:** :) **at the end of your review if you read both A/N's because I feel like people aren't reading them... );**

**-T**


	5. Pranks and Pitches (part 1)

**A/N I'm about done with most guess reviewers. Like seriously. It's like if you know I can't PM you, then you think you can say whatever you want. There are a few guests that I do appreciate, though. :) **

* * *

Chapter 5

Pranks and Pitches (part 1 {didn't get everything in})

September 14, 1991

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

* * *

Harry was excited to have a lesson on a Saturday, unlike most first-year members of the other houses. He was thrilled to fly on a broom for the first time. He and Blaise were heading down to the Great Hall behind the girls chatting excitedly about flying. Blaise had flown once before with his father, but never on his own.

They shoveled food into their mouths to get to the quidditch pitch early. The teacher, Rolanda Hooch, was placing broomsticks on the ground in rows when the foursome arrived. They still had a few minutes before the class would start, so they held back for a bit and talked. Harry expressed his excitement and curiosity to the girls, who just gave him an eye roll and a laugh.

Soon, everyone was there, and they took places next to brooms. Out of unconscious habit, the houses stuck together. Harry briefly glanced at Ron Weasley, who he had made an effort to speak to twice throughout the five days since his meeting with Dumbledore. However, the red-head seemed to want to brush him off bu think better of it because Dumbledore was constantly watching.

After being instructed to do so, the students all yelled the word up and waited for their brooms to fly into their outstretched hands. Harry's broom came into his hand almost before he had a chance to finish the word. On his second try of the word, Draco Malfoy had a broom in his hand, also. Blaise, Tracey, and Daphne all struggled for a few seconds before their brooms obeyed.

On the other side of the line, a few Gryffindors were having problems. Hermoine Granger, the know-it-all, was forcefully speaking to her broom and getting increasingly angry. Neville Longbottom, often the butt of Draco Malfoy's jokes, was also having problems.

"Look at Fatbottom, the squib," the blonde laughed. "What's the matter, will the broom not respond to your 'magic'?"

Neville looked Malfoy, and he seemed to be holding back tears. He tried a few more times, and the broom eventually rose slowly into the palm of his hand.

Granger was still having problems, and Harry felt a little bad for the girl.

Malfoy snickered. "Ooh, the Mudblood can't work a broom, big surprise."

"Mr. Malfoy, be quiet!" Professor Hooch scolded.

Eventually, everyone had their brooms floating in their hands, and the professor gave them their new instructions: straddle the broom then kick off the ground lightly and float.

Harry and all of the purebloods— except Neville Longbottom— were mounted and floating. Malfoy was still boasting about his flying abilities, ignoring the fact that Harry was always beating him to things.

There were still a few of the students who did not have their brooms floating, namely Ron Weasley, Hermione Granger, Neville Longbottom, Hannah Abbott, Crabbe, and Goyle. Harry figured that the broom was having trouble supporting the weight of Crabbe and Goyle, and flying seemed to be the one thing Hermoine Granger was bad at.

Hannah Abbott and Weasley got into the air soon after, only a little wobbly; however, Hermoine and Neville still were not progressing. Crabbe and Goyle slowly rose into the air, but the brooms were bending slightly under their weight. The school brooms were not exactly in the best condition, and the two boys were not exactly skinny.

Hermoine eventually got into the air, but she looked terrified. "Poor girl," Harry heard Daphne whisper to Tracey.

Neville finally kicked off the ground, but he kicked too hard, for his broom shot into the air and a red orb fell onto the ground.

"What are we going to do now?" Nott asked Malfoy in a much louder than the intended tone.

Malfoy slapped the brunette boy and told him to be quiet. Harry wondered about the interaction; he was curious if the prank they were talking about on Monday was planned for this moment. The aggravated expression on Malfoy's face told Harry that he was right. Harry made eye contact with Daphne and nodded his head toward the boys. She looked confused, so Harry said that he would explain later.

During Harry's thoughts, Neville was shooting into the air with a rapidly increasing speed. He was twenty feet in the air as looking around frantically when everything went wrong. Draco was sneering and trying to discreetly hide his wand. However, Harry saw him.

Neville began to move unsteadily on the broom that was thrashing about. He slipped and was hanging on like a sloth. Soon, his legs slipped. Everyone, including the professor, was staring at the episode in horror. No one moved a muscle. Harry was intently watching Malfoy's actions while keeping a close eye on Neville. In the end, Harry made up his mind about what he would do and formed a plan.

He slowly leaned forward to see if the broom would move. It did, so he continued to lean forward and he slowly gained speed and height. All the while, Naville was gripping the stick. It was slowly tilting and Neville's hands were sliding as it turned at a worse angle. When Harry got about ten feet to the right of the boy, Neville's finger's slipped. He screamed. There were many girly screams below as the students looked onward. Luckily, Harry was also lower than Neville and his broom, so he shot forward quicker than ever before.

Neville was screaming at a higher pitch than an opera singer as he fell. His legs were splayed and his arms were flailing as if he was trying to reach the broom still. When Neville hit Harry's broom, the stick jabbed him straight in the groin. He yelped in pain and doubled over with a firm grip on the broom. Harry was fighting to balance the broom in the air as Neville's sudden weight shifted it forward. Once the broom was balanced, Harry began to toy with the object, attempting to lower it. Finally, he descended back to the Earth.

When the two boys got back to the grass, everyone clapped slowly in amazement. Neville fell to the ground in a fetal position and Harry climbed off the broom.

Professor Hooch approached. "Mr. Longbottom, do you need to go to the infirmary?"

"Yes, please."

"Can you stand?" The professor inquired.

"Maybe..." Neville said as he wobbly stood before slumping over. "No, no I cannot."

"Okay," the professor levitated Neville. "Be good while I take him to the infirmary."

As soon as the professor was out of the pitch and well on her way to the castle, Draco Malfoy jumped off his broom and grabbed the red orb Neville dropped during his descent into the air. With an evil grin, the blonde boy jumped on his broom and raced around the pitch with the orb. He was flying dangerously wobbly and slow, but still better than most could. Harry watched in fright.

From somewhere in the group of students, a feminine voice exclaimed, "Potter, so get the red thing from him!"

Harry snapped out of his daze and found a broom. He yelled 'up' and jumped on the broom. He took off as fast as he dared toward the Draco who was pumping the orb up in the air. When Draco noticed Harry coming his way, he took off toward the castle. Harry soon got close to the blonde, so Draco chunked the orb as hard as he could. The throw was surprisingly hard, and Harry changed his direction to the direction the orb had gone.

Harry zoomed past the stone and a few windows before he got close to the orb. He slowed his speed and stretched out his arm toward the orb. The orb was finally in the grasp of the boy's left hand, and he screeched to a stop.

* * *

Professor Snape was in the office of the Transfiguration professor, speaking to McGonagall about his issues concerning the Slytherin Quidditch team. He was aware of how competitive the old woman became concerning quidditch, but he also knew she had a good idea for possible candidates. Furthermore, the witch was one who liked competition rather than an easy win. Considering all these reasons, the Head of Slytherin House went to his colleague for help.

"I have no idea what to do, Minerva. I have no person to fill the seeker place on the team. I've spoken to everyone from the third year up and no one is interested, and the few who are interested are horrible," Snape complained.

McGonagall thought for a moment. "Have you considered anyone younger than third year?"

"No, that is against school policies, is it not?"

McGonagall said, "I do not believe so. As far as I understand it has simply become an unspoken law. However, you may want to do some searching."

"Okay, thank you, Minerva," Snape slightly bowed.

McGonagall's eyed grew to be large and she pointed. Both professors rushed to the window when they saw Harry Potter fly by at much too fast for a first year.

"I saw something red go by before him," McGonagall wondered aloud.

Both professors gasped when they saw Harry catch the orb a few feet from the window. McGonagall opened the window.

"Potter, this office, now!" Snape snapped.

* * *

Harry looked at his Head of House with a frightened expression. "Yes, sir.''

Harry flew to the ground and handed Hermoine the orb to give to her housemate before he rushed to the office of McGonagall. On his way, Harry could not help but imagine how much trouble he would be in from Professor Snape, who seemed to hate him in the first place.

When Harry reached the door, he knocked twice before receiving permission to enter. Snape and McGonagall were both sitting on the couch and Harry was motioned to sit on the chair facing them. He sat and looked at the teachers nervously.

"Look, Potter," McGonagall cleared her throat, "excuse me, Mr. Potter, I am not happy about this, but I need a seeker for the house quidditch team. That was a great catch and good flying skills that you just demonstrated, so the position is yours if you'd like," Snape finished.

"I know nothing about quidditch, though," Harry said.

"That's what your team captain will explain," McGonagall cut in nicely.

"Okay, I guess I'll do it."

* * *

**A/N Okay, I'm not happy with the ****length of this but I've been busy, and I probably won't have writing time until next Monday. So it's going up now.**

**I hope yall liked the flying lesson and my part of a spin on it. I hope this chapter was good and that I won't get attacked by guests in the reviews this time. :)**

**I still do not see a Beta reader anywhere close to my future, sorry guys. This chapter would be at least a week and a half late if I did get one. Therefore, (country grammar coming out right now) it ain't happenin'.**

**Oh yeah, it was pointed out to me that ****in th****e last chapter, ****Dumbledore would have better predictions of Harry's actions**** than 'blindly' letting him eavesdrop. That situation will later be resolved. Also, there are some holes in Daphne's character, and, knowing what I know and y'all don't about her, I overlooked them. However, I plan to help y'all understand that during the summer before second year. **

**Thanks for all the kind reviews, the follows, favorites, and the reading!**

**-T**


	6. Pranks and Pitches (part 2)

Chapter 6

Pranks and Pitches (part 2)

September 14, 1991

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

* * *

Harry followed a taller, boy with ash blonde hair back to the quidditch pitch, where there were still stray brooms from his flying class. The boy was supposedly the quidditch captain for the Slytherin team, and he apparently would teach the younger boy how to play the game. However, Harry did not know what would happen, judging by the looks that were being thrown his way.

Harry did not know what the quidditch captain's name was, but he was afraid to ask.

"Now look, Potter," the captain began brusquely, "I don't want you on this team, not at all, but you're my only option so I'm going to teach you the game. You may want to know that my name is Crux Batt."

After an hour of complicated explanations, multiple questions, and annoyed glances, Harry was caught up on the game of quidditch, his part in the game, and thoroughly annoyed. Despite this, the game seemed enjoyable, and Harry thought he would do well.

When Harry made it back into the common room, Malfoy automatically cornered him. "Where have you been?" the blonde boy asked threateningly.

Harry quickly thought and had to partially lie."Snape made me talk to him about the... situation."

"I don't believe you," Malfoy practically declared.

"Well believe whatever you want, _Malfoy._" Harry's patience was nearly gone, and he did not want to deal with the rude boy.

When Harry walked away, he missed the sly smile that crept its way onto the blonde boy. Had Harry seen it, he may have been watching his back a little closer than he actually was. However, Harry merrily strolled back to the dorm room.

* * *

Harry woke up the next morning and got ready quickly. He had his first quidditch practice that morning and it would begin right after breakfast. He wanted to be ready rather than having to devour his food and rush onto the pitch. Unlike his usual, Harry did not wait on Blaise and the girls, but he explained to Blaise before he left.

Breakfast was kind of boring for the raven-haired boy since he was alone. Harry used the quiet time to try and think over the game of quidditch and his job in it. When the others showed, Harry readily talked to them for about five minutes.

Just before Harry left, the morning post came. The only thing keeping the boy at the table was the fact that a barn owl carrying an oblong package was coming in his direction. The package was placed in front of him and had his name on it, so Harry ripped into the package, much like he had seen his cousin, Dudley, do on many occasions. This, however, was the first time Harry had experienced this himself.

The package was a broom. Harry had no idea where it came from, but he was informed by Blaise that is was the newest Nimbus broom, the Nimbus 2000. Based on the awed look on Blaise's face, Harry could infer that it was a really neat and expensive broom.

Harry looked around the broom and package for a name of who sent it, but he was unable to find anything. Next, he looked around the room and saw no one looking at him. Daphne, who was sitting in front of him, was smiling down at her food.

"You, seriously?" Harry accused the girl.

Daphne looked up like a deer in the headlights. "What? No, I am just observant enough to see who sent that."

"Who?" Blaise and Harry asked in unison.

"I'm not saying. That's your mystery to figure out."

Harry glared. "Okay, well, I have quidditch practice to get to. Are we still doing the 'Slytherin Bootcamp' later?"

The three replied, "Yep."

Harry grabbed his new broom and marched out of the Great Hall and to the quidditch pitch. He was the first one there, no surprise since Slytherins always seemed to be exactly on time and no earlier, no later.

* * *

Harry's first practice went well. He seemed to be a natural on the pitch. After practice, Harry had time to take a shower and change before he had to meet his friends by the lake for the 'Slytherin Bootcamp.'

Blaise, Daphne, and Tracey were waiting in the group's usual spot when Harry walked up. They smiled at him before launching into an explanation of what they planned for the boy.

"First, we will start out by giving you scenarios," Daphne started out.

Blaise spoke up. "Then, you will be taught how to properly hide and eavesdrop."

Lastly, Tracey spoke. "Finally, you will be given pointers on how to plot behind people's backs, and my friend Daphne here knows the psycogy or whatever behind it."

"Psychology," Daphne corrected with a smile.

"Okay," answered Harry. "When do we start?"

The others smiled and said in unison, "Right now."

* * *

Two hours later, Harry was nailing all the tests and went from a shy boy that did not really seem to fit in anywhere to a sly boy who was the perfect Slytherin. Harry was trying to get used to the mindset as he walked into the Great Hall and heard the chatter of students about him. He was picking out parts of conversations and trying to keep the faces and words together in his mind. However, he was only keeping what may be useful to him in the future.

This also stayed on his mind throughout the dinner while he was keeping track of others' conversations along with the constant flow of his friends. Daphne could be seen watching the room discretely. Being observant was something that Harry was going to have to work on, seeing as it was an important aspect of the Slytherin character.

* * *

Harry laid down in his bunk that night, exhausted from quidditch practice and Slytherin Bootcamp. He replayed a few important conversations he had picked up in his head as he drifted off to sleep. One conversation that had the young boy troubled was something Malfoy had said when Harry passed him in the halls earlier in the day.

"He took my place. He will pay for it because my Dad will hear about this, and he will help me," Malfoy had said.

This was something Harry worried about. He began to scavenge in his head for anyone who may have 'taken Malfoy's spot'. Knowing the blonde boy, it was probably not Malfoy's spot, to begin with.

Harry eventually drifted off to sleep an hour or two later without an explanation.

* * *

_September 15, 1991_

"Potter, I need you to stay after class," Snape barked as Harry gathered his things.

"Yes, sir," Harry said to the potions master.

Once everyone left the room, Snape began speaking to Harry. "Look, Potter, I have some bad news. As much as I hate to say it, you really are the best choice for the seeker; and, from what I heard, you played amazingly yesterday at practice. However, someone else has been chosen for that spot on the team. You are dismissed."

Harry looked at the professor. "Thank you for letting me know. Can you at least tell me who has been chosen over me?"

"I'm afraid you will just have to find out with the rest of your house," Snape said without emotion.

Harry left the room to go to his next class in a much more depressed mood.

* * *

**A/N Look, I'm aware that this is really short but it's really just a ****continuation of the last chapter, so, put together, they are actually a normal length. I have been really busy lately so updates have been spotty, but I have Thanksgiving break next week so I should get time to write a couple of chapters in advance then. **

**Thank yall for reading, reviewing, favoriting, and/or following. I appreciate each and every one of them.**

**-T**


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